Trip to Myanmar National Forest

We went on a 20+ mile hike along a mountain in a National Forest in Myanmar. The hike was led by some Burmese rangers, and we went through an “path” that had not be taken by people before. While we hiked, our bags were being carried by elephants. The elephants took different routes than us because they could easily scale a mountain, while we had to navigate around it. The trek to the top of the mountain was almost all uphill.

Once we got to the top, we found a place near water and built a camp. The elephants stomped around an area to flatten out the land. They used their trunks to tear down trees and stopped on plants. The rangers then built shelters for us to sleep under using bamboo and tarp. The rangers also set up a fire and cooked us dinner consisting of rice and vegetables.

In the morning, we had sticky rice for breakfast and headed back. On our way, the rangers accidentally took a wrong turn and we ended up hiking from 9am to 5pm. This meant that we really ended up going off any sort of path. We got hit in the face by plants and veins. I used a stick to help me walk and swat at the plants that could trip me. That being said, I still fell 3-4 times and got a large rip in my pants near my knee. When we got back, I made sure to have a Myanmar beer to celebrate surviving the hike.